THE Philippines has a strong appetite for data and was an early pioneer in using SMS for services like payments, but turning technological innovation into broader digital economy growth remains a challenge, according to the global mobile industry group.
Julian Gorman, head of Asia Pacific at GSMA, said during the Digital Nation Summit in Makati City on Thursday that the Philippines demonstrates robust demand for digital services and now ranks seventh in the GSMA’s Asia Pacific Digital Nation Index, placing it firmly among the region’s leading digital nations. Yet, he noted, complex regulations and slow site approvals have hindered the full application of technology in practical services.
‘The country is currently going through, I think a big shift, which deserves some applause,’ Gorman added, citing recent government allocations of over P72 billion for national broadband, cloud, and other digital transformation projects. The domestic digital economy contributed P2.25 trillion, or roughly 8.5 percent of GDP, with e-commerce alone surpassing P500 billion in 2023.
To illustrate how regulatory reforms can drive digital growth, Gorman cited India and Vietnam as regional examples. India, previously hindered by spectrum crises, decades-old legal disputes, and failed auctions, streamlined site approvals and reduced spectrum costs, enabling the country to build the world’s fastest nationwide standalone 5G network.
‘In the last 10 or 15 years, India has gone from being a technology importer to be a technology exporter,’ Gorman said, adding that India serves as a relevant benchmark for 5G deployment in the Philippines. He noted that, as a low- to middle-income country facing challenges similar to those in the Philippines, such as underserved or remote areas, India has managed to build a successful 5G ecosystem, albeit differently from larger markets like China or the United States.
Vietnam, meanwhile, cut spectrum reserve prices by 90 percent and offered government rebates tied to operator investments, signaling a clear commitment to using mobile technology as a driver of economic transformation, Gorman said.
‘I think a bold policy, a regulatory step by providing a rebate, but actually directly linking it to the revenue from the auction was a very clear message that the government considered they would also invest in making sure that mobile technology was a strong foundation for the transformation of the economy,’ he emphasized.
Despite regulatory hurdles, Gorman said the Philippines has advantages, including a young, digitally literate population. Yet, he noted a significant usage gap: many Filipinos covered by mobile broadband are not fully utilizing it due to device costs, lack of relevant services, limited digital skills, and issues of digital trust.
‘In the physical world, trust is the foundation to order society. trust is everything. In the digital world, trust is being attacked by the scam economy, by scammers,’ he added, highlighting GSMA’s Asia Pacific Cross-Sector Anti-Scam Task Force. The initiative brings together 35 organizations across 17 countries, including Philippine operators, Google, and Meta, to collaborate on identifying and preventing scams.
The group’s ongoing Asean consumer scam study shows that 52 percent of Filipinos have been scammed at least once, seven points above the Asean average. Eight percent reported being victimized in the past year, with exposure rising 6 percent, second only to Thailand. Two-thirds of victims lost money, 11 percent significantly, while 45 percent reported emotional stress and 28 percent spent considerable time resolving incidents. Overall, 96 percent expressed concern about scams, with 58 percent ‘very concerned,’ up seven points year-on-year.
At the summit, GSMA urged stakeholders across banking, telecoms, e-commerce, and government to standardize threat reporting, leverage telecom data for real-time fraud detection, expand public-awareness campaigns, and align data-protection frameworks to support secure cross-border services under the Asean Connectivity Strategic Plan 2026-2035.
Gorman, meanwhile, stressed the importance of preparing for the next wave of technology, including AI and 5G. With Filipinos ranking as the fifth-largest global users of ChatGPT, creating a supportive regulatory framework for AI is crucial to ensure safe online use, he said.
He added that infrastructure upgrades are needed to support AI-driven traffic, low-latency applications like live translation, and expanding the nation’s fiber network, while also considering sustainable power supply and cloud infrastructure development.